The danger, then, lies not in the portrayal of struggle but in the portrayal of survival as inevitable. A 2021 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health suggested that while exposure to 16 and Pregnant correlated with reduced teen birth rates in some demographics, heavy viewers of Teen Mom often perceived parenthood as more manageable than their peers. This is the “Jade Jantzen effect”: the belief that with enough grit, a reality TV check, and a sympathetic edit, the obstacles of teen motherhood can be overcome. Teens may “like it big”—meaning they prefer larger-than-life success stories over the mundane, years-long grind of raising a child without fame or financial safety nets.